scholarly journals Autonomy in language learning: a case study with Italian as a second language

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Vittoria Lo Presti
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Students ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
Assessment Questionnaire

The aim of this paper is to investigate the development of autonomy in learning Italian as a second language (L2). The analysis is based on the experience of the language advisor of the “Centro per l’Autoapprendimento” (CAP) of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan) with sixteen foreign students. In the introduction, the usefulness of university self-access centres (SAC) is briefly introduced, and the CAP is presented. The second part of the article concerns the case study on sixteen foreign university students who participated in a didactic project on the development of the oral production skill that introduced them to the CAP, the language advisor, and the concept of autonomy in learning Italian. The project ended with a final self-assessment questionnaire that allowed the learners to understand their strengths and weaknesses, and enabled the language advisor to verify the effectiveness of the activity.

Learning opportunities in peer-peer interaction: A case study of two L2 Mandarin Chinese learners

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-226
Author(s):  
Dan Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Instructed Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Negotiation For Meaning

AbstractThe roles of interaction have been studied for several decades. Recent studies have turned to investigate “the details of which components of interaction might be more or less effective in which contexts with which learners” (Loewen, Shawn & Masatoshi Sato. 2018. Interaction and instructed second language acquisition. Language Teaching 51(3). 285–329: 286). This case study, based on three unstructured interactions outside the classroom between two L2 Mandarin Chinese learners, investigates the learning opportunities these interactions brought about in terms of helping them to increase in control over forms that had already been encountered inside the classroom. Using the concept of the language-related episode (Swain, Merrill & Sharon Lapkin. 1998. Interaction and second language learning: Two adolescent French immersion students working together. The Modern Language Journal 82(3). 320–337), this study sets focus on learning opportunities for lexis- and grammar-related items. It finds learning opportunities arise as the two peers negotiate for meaning motivated by the need to comprehend, strive to use the L2 to express/co-express themselves, and improve their form through the other’s feedback. In addition, lexis-related learning is found to be very positive in this study. The dictionary played an indispensable role in facilitating the learners when they encountered lexis-related issues. Further, it enabled the learners to learn new vocabulary when driven by communicative needs. In comparison, the grammar-related learning is found to be relatively complicated. And the fact the learners had nowhere to resort to concerning grammatical issues attributed to it. In terms of the different types of interactions, compared to learning through negotiation for meaning and feedback, output and co-construction/collaboration were found to be most productive in promoting the learning.

Integrating Chinese Community into Canadian Society

2014 ◽  
pp. 459-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuping Mao ◽  
Martin Guardado ◽  
Kevin R. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Student Experiences ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Program Coordinators ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Organizational Benefits

The use of podcasting technology in language learning presents a unique set of challenges and holds a great deal of promise for digital natives as well as for newcomers to technology. The literature on podcasts in learning mainly focuses on student experiences in formal educational settings, while questions related to nontraditional students in freely-available language programs provided by non-profit organizations remain unexplored. Taking a case study approach, this research examines how podcasting enhances the English learning experiences of students in an English as a Second Language (ESL) course offered by a non-profit organization that provides community services to immigrants in Canada. This chapter discusses instructional and organizational benefits as well as the challenges of applying podcasts in language training. By triangulating the experiences of the students, instructor, and program coordinators, we are able to examine the effectiveness of such a program and offer recommendations for similar programs in the future.

scholarly journals How Foreign Students Learn ‘Bahasa Indonesia’ as a Second Language

JET ADI BUANA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Singgih Widodo Limantoro
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Real World ◽  
Foreign Students ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Cultural Exposure ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

Foreigners who learn 'Bahasa Indonesia' in Indonesia actually learn Indonesian as a Second Language in the real-world settings. They practice Indonesian in Indonesian-speaking culture so that they expect to improve their Indonesian proficiency in a conducive language environment. In this paper, the writer would like to investigate why and how the foreign students learn it at Ubaya Language Center in Surabaya, Indonesia for about one semester. As a matter of fact, a language is also a part of culture, therefore, when they learn the Indonesian cultural activities, they might also learn the Indonesian language through cultural exposure. Based on his overall survey findings, the participants or the foreign students learning Indonesian at ULC had some reasons, such as chance for working career, for travelling, and for improving the language competence. They also used the Indonesian skills in their daily lives. This conducive language environment, their motivation and strategies in learning Indonesian in Indonesia would also enhance the success of their language learning. Keywords: communicative competence, foster, how to learn, linguistic environment

scholarly journals What Lies Beneath the Stated Meanings: a Transactional View of Language Learners Making Meaning with Texts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
~ Marianne
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Reading Program ◽  
Extensive Reading ◽  
Transactional Theory ◽  
Reading For Pleasure ◽  
Esl Learners

<p>This thesis reports on a year long case study conducted into the processes and products of English Second Language (ESL) learners reading fiction texts for pleasure in a high school extensive reading program. Although 'extensive reading' is usually associated with interactive language learning perspectives such as 'Second Language Acquisition' (for one view within this perspective see Krashen [1982]), a different theoretical perspective was applied in the present study. Louise Rosenblatt's transactional theory of reader response is used to analyse and discuss data made about teenagers reading for pleasure in an extensive reading program. At the heart of Rosenblatt's transactional theory is the assumption that every reading event is unique to the person, text and context of that reading experience. To understand what it means to make meaning with a text, each of those things must be considered. Thus in order to better understand ESL learners' processes and products of reading for pleasure, this thesis provides a fine grained, deep description of how one reader made meaning with texts. This description is contextualised and enriched through the inclusion of case study data from other ESL and native English speaker participants. By focusing on one reader, the complexity of the interrelationships of reader, text and context are amply demonstrated. This, it will be argued, provides a valuable lens through which teachers and researchers may view other readers, other texts and other contexts. Conclusions drawn from this study will claim that Rosenblatt's transactional theory not only readily facilitates language learning goals (for example, extensive use of the target language) but importantly provides another perspective, apart from the predominant interactive language learning perspectives, on what it might mean for readers to make meaning with texts read for pleasure. Understanding the processes and products of reading for pleasure from a transactional view has pedagogical import for the utilization of extensive reading programs, and perhaps most importantly, for the intellectual development of second language learners.</p>

scholarly journals Krashen Revisited: Case Study of the Role of Input, Motivation and Identity in Second Language Learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Bailey ◽  
Ahmed Kadhum Fahad
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Target Language

Stephen Krashen has a long and enduring legacy in the field of second language acquisition. His “Input Hypothesis” was among the very first attempts to create a coherent theoretical account of second language learning. Krashen argued that learners can acquire language through the process of comprehending it. While elements of his model have been extensively critiqued, this idea has endured and offers teachers a clear mandate to provide learners with abundant opportunities to making meaning of the target language. Utilizing a case study of an English language learner, Krashen’s model is challenged and enriched by considering the role that motivation and identity play in learning. Teachers tapping into an important source of learner motivation, role models drawn from the local community or broader society, can inspire and energize students’ studies and help them visualize a life in which a second language plays a vital role. Building upon Krashen’s idea of the importance of language teachers and programs creating robust reading programs for a sustained engagement with second language print resources, the authors propose to expand his vision and include all manner of multimedia and technologies. However, such a program can only succeed if teachers mediate their learners’ social identities and motivations for sustained second language learning.

scholarly journals A CASE STUDY OF FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO SUCCESSFUL SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Terri Chen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Personality Characteristics ◽  
Single Individual ◽  
English Speaker ◽  
Learning Success

Every case of second language learning is different, but they are often influenced by systematic factors. What causes a learner to succeed or fail? In this case study, the language learning experiences of a single nonnative English speaker who successfully acquired English sheds light on the interplay between several of these aspects. An interview with a single adult subject reveals that for this particular individual, a high aptitude, as well as identity and personality characteristics that aligned with an openness to experience and learning in general, were more effective than factors of motivation. While identifying how and why a single individual may be successful or unsuccessful might not be generalizable to all learners, it can serve as a tool in helping to understand differences in L2 learning success.  

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